Emblems which will glow in the dark and the method of making them

ABSTRACT

Emblems which will glow in the dark, the same being fabricated by applying a phosphorescent material to the fabric of the emblems and then embroidering a design and/or indicia on the fabric.

Packler et a1.

EMBLEMS WHICH WILL GLOW IN THE Filed: June 22, 1972 Appl. No.: 265,212

U.S. Cl 112/439, 40/134, 250/71 R,

Int. Cl D05c 17/00 Field of Search 112/439, 266;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1882 Trotter 40/134 UX June 12, 1973 1,377,065 5/1921 Ganley 40/134 1,630,730 5/1927 Daugherty 250/71 R x 2,681,449 6/1954 Montez 250/71 R X 1,739,289 12/1929 Carter 2/1 UX 3,221,958 12/1965 Straight 2/1 X Primary ExaminerAlfred R. Guest Attorney-Jack E. Dominik, Robert E. Knechtel, Edmund A. Godula et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT Emblems which will glow in the dark, the same being fabricated by applying a phosphorescent material to the fabric of the emblems and then embroidering a design and/or indicia on the fabric.

12 Claims, No Drawings EMBLEMS WHICH WILL GLOW IN THE DARK AND THE METHOD OF MAKING THEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to improved emblems and, more particularly, to improved emblems which will glow in the dark and to the method of making them.

Emblems with which this invention is concerned are those of the type consisting of a patch of fabric, such as duck cloth, with a design or indicia, or both, embroidered on it. Such emblems are sometimes generally referred to as patches. Emblems or patches of this type find a whole host of different uses or applications. For example, many businesses use emblems of this type to identify their employees. Various organizations also use them to identify their members. More recently, it has become a popular fad, particularly with younger people, to collect and sew emblems with modern sayings and/or pictorial representations and the like on them on their shirts, jackets and blue jeans.

2. Description of the Prior Art Recently, numerous attempts have been made to form emblems which will glow in the dark, however, none of them have been successful, for one reason or another. The principal reason that the majority of these attempts have failed is because of the fact that the phosphorescent material was applied to the thread or yarn used in embroidering the design or indicia on the fabric. When this is done, the thread or yarn is deleteriously effected, and when attempts are made to embroider with it, it continuously breaks, thus making it impossible to use. Work is still continuing to perfect a usable thread or yarn, but so far all attempts to do so have not produced a satisfactory product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, a liquid chemical substance (hereinafter broadly referred toas a paint) including a phosphorescent material is applied to the fabric of the emblems, to cause the fabric to glow in the dark and silhouette the design or indicia on it. In a lighted environment, these emblems generally look no different than presently existing emblems, but in thedark, the emblems glow so that many unusual and interesting designs can be created. In addition, since the emblems glow in the dark, individuals wearing them can be more easily located and identified, thus making the emblems uniquely applicable for use by members of, for example, emergency or rescue squads. Further still, the emblems offer a safety feature in that'a person wearing one or more of the emblems while, for exam ple, walking or riding a bicycle in the dark, can be'more' easily seen.

In forming the emblems of the invention, applying the paint to the fabric rather than to the yarn isnot without difficulty. For example, it was first thought that a quantity of the paint simply could be applied to the fabric so that it would glow in the dark, and that this fabric simply could be embroidered with a particular design or indicia, as commonly done. However, in many cases, depending on the quantity of paint applied to the fabric, the fabric is too stiff to embroider, the result being that the thread or yarn would break. In other cases, the embroidering is not clear so that the design or indicia is generally blurred. The emblem, therefore, is generally unacceptable.

The paint used on the fabric normally is formed by mixing a phosphorescent material (the pigment) with a vehicle, and then the paint is applied to the fabric. Tests with different mixtures or ratios of pigment, or phosphorescent material, and vehicle indicate that the stiffness of the material can be controlled, but again, if too little pigment is used, the emblem does not glow sufficiently to silhouette the design or indicia, or there is an insufficient afterglow.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved emblem and, more particularly, an improved emblem which will glow in the dark.

More particularly still, it is an object of the invention to provide a method of forming an emblem which will glow in the dark.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In forming the emblems of the present invention, it is found that the preferred method of doing so is to mix equal parts of the pigment or phosphorescent material and the vehicle. The vehicle can be water, however, preferably an acrylic solution is used to provide a weatherresistant coating which will withstand laundering over a period of time. The phosphor content of the pigment or phosphorescent material preferably should be non-toxic, for if a toxic material is used, it may constitute a health hazard to younger children who may accidentally or intentionally place the emblems in their mouth. If the material does not possess some weatherresistance, after being laundered several times, the glow feature of the emblems may be substantially reduced or eliminated. A paint which satisfies all of these characteristics and which preferably and advantageously can be used is SPOT-LITE GLOW-IN-THE DARK GLOW-PAINT, manufactured and sold by Canrad Precision Industries, Inc., Pelham, NY.

The paint, as indicated above, preferably has an equal mixture of pigment and vehicle, for such a mixture provides maximum luminoscity and long life for the emblem, when applied to the fabric, as set forth below. If'le's's than this ratio is used, lesser luminoscity is provided, unless additional coats of the paint are applied so that the end result provides a layer of paint which contains the same quantity of pigment. In the latter event, the additional coats required may result in a fabric which is too stiff to embroider. By the same token, if a greater ratio of pigment is used, a stiffened fabric likewise may result.

The paint is applied to the fabric in any suitable fashion, for example, by using a screening process or by brushing it on. The paint must be applied so as to provide a coating weight within a range of 3060 pounds dry weight per 3,000 square feet of fabric, that is, a coating weight within this range, after the vehicle has dried, evaporated or volatilized. While a coating weight within this range can be used, the preferred coating weight is 40 pounds dry weight per 3,000 square feet of fabric, since this coating weight provides a fabric which is the most satisfactory, in that it is not too stiff to embroider, and the design and indicia is clear and not blurred. The paint or fabric also has a good luminoscity and a long life so that it still glows with relatively good luminoscity and afterglow, after being washed or laundered. If a coating weight of less than 30 pounds is used, insufficient luminoscity and afterglow result, so that the emblem is generally unsatisfactory as a glow emblem. If more than 60 pounds is used, the fabric is generally too stiff to embroider or stitch to provide a clear design or indicia. Furthermore, beyond 60 pounds, the cost factor is economically unattractive.

After the paint has been applied to the fabric and properly dried, the fabric is embroidered or stitchedin the same manner in which the emblems presently are formed. More specifically, a roll of the fabric is placed in an embroidering apparatus, and a large number of emblems (approximately 150 to 300 of them) are simultaneously formed by embroidering a particular design and/or indicia on the fabric. Thereafter, the fabric is cut to form individual ones of the emblems.

SPECIFIC EXAMPLE A specific example of the materials and the manner in which emblems which glow in the dark were formed is as follows:

The fabric used for the emblems was a fabric which is 50 percent cotton and 50 percent polyester.

The paint was formed of a mixture of equal quantities of phosphorescent material and an acrylic solution, the paint being SPOT-LITE GLOW-IN-THE-DARK GLOW-PAINT sold by Canrad Precision Industries, lnc., Pelham, NY.

The paint was applied to the fabric by brushing it on, and then permitted to air dry. The coating weight was i 40 pounds dry weight per 3,000 square feet on the fab- I'lC.

After the paint was applied to the fabric and properly dried, the fabric was placed in a standard embroidering machine, and both a design and indicia were embroidered on the fabric in a conventional fashion.

The resulting emblems had designs and indicia which were generally satisfactory, with neither the design or indicia being blurred to any great extent. All emblems were classified as acceptable. The emblems glowed in the dark with sufficient luminoscity, and with a sufficiently long afterglow, to be acceptable.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and certain changes may be made in carrying out the above method and in the product set forth. Accordingly, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Now that the invention has been described, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A method of forming emblems which glow in the dark comprising the steps of:

a. providing a fabric which can be embroidered;

b. applying a mixture of phosphorescent material and a vehicle to said fabric to provide a coating weight within a range of 30-60 pounds dry weight per 3,000 square feet of fabric; and

c. embroidering a design and/or indicia on said fabric after said mixture has dried.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said mixture comprises equal quantities of phosphorescent material and vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said vehicle comprises water.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said vehicle comprises an acrylic solution.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said phosphorescent material is non-toxic.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said mixture is applied to said fabric to provide a coating weight of 40 pounds dry weight per 3,000 square feet of fabric.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein said mixture is applied to said fabric to provide a coating weight of 40 pounds dry weight per 3,000 square feet of fabric.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein only a single coat or layer of said mixture is applied to said fabric.

9. An emblem which will glow in the dark comprising a fabric having a mixture of phosphorescent material and vehcile vehicle to it, said mixture forming a coating within a range of 30-60 pounds dry weight per 3,000 square feet of said fabric, and a design and/or indicia embroidered on said fabric with yarn.

10. The emblem of claim 9, wherein said mixture comprises equal quantities of said phosphorescent material and said vehicle.

11. The emblem of claim 10, wherein said vehicle comprises an acrylic solution.

12. The emblem of claim 10, wherein said mixture forms a coating of 40 pounds dry weight per 3,000

square feet of said fabric. 

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said mixture comprises equal quantities of phosphorescent material and vehicle.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said vehicle comprises water.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said vehicle comprises an acrylic solution.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said phosphorescent material is non-toxic.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said mixture is applied to said fabric to provide a coating weight of 40 pounds dry weight per 3,000 square feet of fabric.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein said mixture is applied to said fabric to provide a coating weight of 40 pounds dry weight per 3,000 square feet of fabric.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein only a single coat or layer of said mixture is applied to said fabric.
 9. An emblem which will glow in the dark comprising a fabric having a mixture of phosphorescent material and vehcile vehicle to it, said mixture forming a coating within a range of 30-60 pounds dry weight per 3,000 square feet of said fabric, and a design and/or indicia embroidered on said fabric with yarn.
 10. The emblem of claim 9, wherein said mixture comprises equal quantities of said phosphorescent material and said vehicle.
 11. The emblem of claim 10, wherein said vehicle comprises an acrylic solution.
 12. The emblem of claim 10, wherein said mixture forms a coating of 40 pounds dry weight per 3,000 square feet of saiD fabric. 